This prequel novella is FREE and available on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble!

Every sacrifice has consequences.

Sixteen-year-old Rowan has spent most of his life living among the mortals—learning to control the element of fire, impatiently awaiting the day his vengeful mother, Queen Prisma, will abdicate her throne. When he finally returns to Avalon for his coronation, his mother insists he must first prove his loyalty to the court by completing a secret mission:

Kill Kalin, the half-human, half-elemental daughter of the air court king.

Willing to do anything to remove his mother from power, he agrees to sacrifice the halfling. He returns to the mortal world with his best friend, Marcus, determined to kill the princess. But as he devises a plan, he starts to question whether or not he’s capable of completing such a heinous task. And what price he will pay if he refuses?

The Shadow Prince started out really well done. It was full of detail and high fantasy elements that immediately captured my attention. I loved the whole concept of Avalon and elemental creatures. In fact, I would definitely say that The Shadow Prince was very similar feeling to the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa and the Elemental series by Brigid Kemmerer

A slight problem that this novella had was that there was a little too much detail crammed into this tiny novella. On one hand that’s awesome because that means that the first book is going to be perfectly set up to just jump into action. On the other hand, that also means that the novella itself was a little too squished together for my personal taste. I did really enjoy the book, but I also feel that the novella should have just been a whole first books so that it had more room to grow.

I wish that the author would have turned this into a high fantasy book instead of more of a urban paranormal book. I say this because the high fantasy elements that were included in this book were amazing. What needed to be done is the modern day qualities needed to be completely wiped from this book and it needed to be more focused on a different world with unique creatures and powers. If it would have stuck to that field, I would be sitting here gushing about the Lord of the Rings qualities that the book had. However, the modern day qualities tended to give it a cheesy type of feel that did not appeal to me.

I really enjoyed the characters. I liked how there were the good guys and then the really bad guys. I kept having a slight problem with the main character, because he seemed a lot older than I think he was supposed to be portrayed as. I kept thinking he was around 25, but I think he was realistically supposed to be around 16 or 17. It’s not really a complaint of the book, but I kept getting confused why the main character was interested in a 15 year old girl. I think that he was just portrayed as a little too mature for his age.

Overall, I thought that this was a good book that definitely has the potential to be expanded. This series is going to appeal to many readers, especially high fantasy lovers!

Pages: 111

Publication Date: March 25th 2014

Publisher: Phoenix Reign Publishing

Rating: [rating: 3]

Author Interview with Stacey O’Neale

Stacey O’Neale lives in Annapolis, Maryland. When she’s not writing, she spends her time fangirling over books, blogging, watching fantasy television shows, cheering for the Baltimore Ravens, and hanging out with her husband and daughter.

Her career in publishing started as a blogger-turned-publicist for two successful small publishers. Stacey writes young adult paranormal romance and adult science fiction romance. Her books always include swoon-worthy heroes, snarky heroines, and lots of kissing.

Stacey loves hearing from readers. Follow her on Twitter @StaceyONeale, look for her on Facebook, Pinterest, and GoodReads. You can also visit her blog at http://staceyoneale.com/.

Can you tell us about your novella, The Shadow Prince, in 15 words or less?

I think THE SHADOW PRINCE at its core is about friendship, making tough choices, and survival.

What genre is The Shadow Prince?

Upper YA Paranormal

When will the first book in the Mortal Enchantment series be released?

May 20, 2014

Will the first book take place immediately after this novella or will some time have passed?

The first chapter of MORTAL ENCHANTMENT is basically the last chapter of THE SHADOW PRINCE, but it’s in Kalin’s point of view. It continues forward from there.

Do you intend to write more novellas for the Mortal Enchantment series?

I’ve been asked by a few reviewers to write Marcus and Ariel’s story. If I do, it will be something I offer to readers for free like THE SHADOW PRINCE.

Is Marcus gone forever or can we expect to see more of him in the future? Will he ever get Ariel?

Marcus will be in MORTAL ENCHANTMENT. He comes back into the story in a really special way. It made one of my beta readers cry. I’m not going to tell you if he gets the girl. 😉

When The Shadow Prince took place, Rowan seemed to have some concrete decisions about what he wanted to do with his kingdom. Toward the end of the novella, though, he seemed to just abandon those thoughts. Did his punishment bring about that decision or was it something else?

He never abandoned those thoughts. By giving up the crown, he made the ultimate sacrifice. When he decided to watch over Kalin, he believed he was doing what was best for his people. Meaning, he thought he was acting as a king would. And, judging by the events in the last chapter, he was right.

What can we expect from Rowan and Kalin throughout the series?

Lots! It’s interesting because Kalin is completely unaware of what’s happened over the last year. King Taron told Rowan he never wanted her to know, so when certain events happen, their perspectives are quite different. There will definitely be lots of friction.

Are you currently working on anything else?

I’m halfway through an adult science fiction romance. It’s the first book in a trilogy. It reminds me a bit of the 90’s show, Roswell. After I finish, I have to write book two in the MORTAL ENCHANTMENT series.

What do you have planned after this series?

I’d like to bounce between YA and Adult Paranormal Romance. Once I finish the two series I mentioned in #9, I have a YA Urban Fantasy series I’m chomping at the bit to write.

What is the best book you’ve read recently?

WHITE HOT KISS by Jennifer L. Armentrout! I absolutely love Roth and I will fight dirty if anyone tries to claim him. ;-p

What is currently in your TBR pile?

LOL! I have over 300 books on my TBR. I read anything YA or Adult in Fantasy, Paranormal, Steampunk, Dystopian, Science Fiction, and even Contemporary Romance! I try to read a book a week. The only time I don’t is when I’m close to a deadline.